Roger Cohen wrote an op-ed in the New York Times in support of “dialogue” with Hezbollah and Hamas and further stated that he was ‘deeply shamed’ by Israel’s actions in Gaza.

Below then is a response written by Isi Leibler published in the New York Times.

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To the Editor:

Roger Cohen condemns Israel, whose responses to “sporadic Hamas rockets” make him feel “shamed.”

I wonder what Mr. Cohen would expect of his government if over the past eight years thousands of “sporadic” rockets and mortar bombs had been targeted at his city and his neighbors had become traumatized by sirens and running in and out of shelters.

Mr. Cohen urges the Obama administration to become more forthcoming with Hamas, which “won the free and fair January 2006 elections,” and with Hezbollah, which Mr. Cohen quotes a British Foreign Office spokesman as saying is “part and parcel of the national fabric in Lebanon.”

Remember, the Nazis were democratically elected and became “part and parcel” of the German national fabric.

The Israelis withdrew unilaterally from Gaza, which enabled terrorists to use the territories they had gained to launch missiles deeper into Israeli territory. I would challenge Mr. Cohen to identify one single instance in which diplomatic outreach to jihadists led to peace rather than emboldening them.

Isi Leibler
Jerusalem, March 9, 2009

The writer is a columnist for The Jerusalem Post and Yisrael Hayom.